And yet this will quite sadly not lead to the end of the Sonic franchise. In all seriousness though, it's a bad thing to see the economy knocking into video game developers. Here's hoping the downtimes of the economy can serve as a reason to collect and maybe even create some leaner, smarter game development companies from the castoffs of old. | |
I hope the Werehog team got cut. | |
Sonic Team I hope | |
With the crap Sonic Team comes out with, is anyone really surprised by this? | |
I'm sad for the people who lost their jobs, but honestly, Werehog? I mean...Really? | |
I'll have to agree mostly with everyone here. It's very sad for the people who are losing their jobs but.....werehog? | |
I thought Team Sonic, or Sonic Team, or whatever, are based in Japan, so cuts in San Francisco would miss them. But I'm probably wrong. No, turns out I'm right. According to the all knowing Wikipedia, Sonic Team, the people who gave us such classics as 2006's Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic and the Secret Rings, and Schmoopys all time favourite Sonic Unleashed, are alive and untouched in Tokyo, and working as we speak on Sonic And The Black Knight (an ironic title, I've found, as Sonics behaviour now reminds me so well of The Black Knight - a lacerated Torso still saying he's gonna wow us). | |
Near as I can tell, the people who were laid off were Sega Studio USA. The gave us titles like Sonics Adventure 1 and 2, considered to be the last great Sonic games. Make of that what you will. | |
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Sega of America Confirms Layoffs
Sega of America has reported that it has laid off around 30 employees, confirming rumors that surfaced yesterday.
"Sega of America has grown at pace with the booming videogame industry, but at this time of economic recession, harsh retail landscape, and the reality of business challenges to profitability, we must take steps to reduce our cost structure and ensure long-term success," a Sega representative announced in an e-mail to Edge Online. "The decision to lay off staff was a difficult one, and we thank these employees for their contributions and wish them well in their future endeavors."
The Sega rep confirmed that the layoffs amounted to "around 30" employees, but declined to go into specifics about what departments they effected, and whether they put the release of any future games in limbo. IGN's original report of the layoffs indicated that the layoffs were centered on the company's San Francisco office, which includes both publishing and development staff.
The layoffs at Sega are the latest in what has become an disturbingly regular trend: the last two months alone have seen layoffs announced at everywhere from large-scale publishers like Electronic Arts, Microsoft and THQ to developers like TimeSplitters creators Free Radical and Age of Conan devs Funcom. Tough times out there, for big and little guys alike. Gamasutra spotted a Facebook update by a former Sega staffer wishing the newly unemployed the best as they moved "onward" - we wish them the same.
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